Tuesday, August 20, 2013

ETC 2014 - Call for Applications for NZ Team

Update: A couple of people have asked about the timeframe for applications and for the team selection.Applications will stay open until at least a week after the ETC have made a decision on where the next ETC is. At the moment it is in Normandy, France but certain spokesmen for the organisers seem to be doing everything to lose their hosting rights - saying hall has no AC, that whole event can't be there etc (looks like NZ 2003 World Cup Bid). The other alternative is Greece. They lost the bid first time around but there appears such disquiet with the French organisers that there is a strong lobby to have another vote. The third alternative - based on the stellar performance this year - is to give the Serbs a second year. I'll update here as soon as it is finalised. This will give potential applicants a week to determine whether the venue suits their needs/plans.Selection will occur once applications close. Given the time and cost commitment my intention is to have the team finalised no later than the end of September. This will let people budget time, pennies and brownie points for the trip.Hope that helps clarify timeframe.

So I’ve been named as New Zealand’s ETC Captain for 2014 and
I’ve got to say I am really looking forward to the challenge. The first part of
this challenge is to put together the best possible team to represent NZ at the
2014 event.

To this end I have put together a selection panel
encompassing Mal Patel, Chris Wilcox (2013 Captain) and myself. I believe it is
important to set some goals and from this expectations of what we would like to
achieve in 2014.

The first goal is to represent New Zealand in a way that
reflects well on the New Zealand gaming community – be that New Zealanders here
in NZ or those playing overseas. In the four years New Zealand has been going
to the ETC there has not been one bad word about our demeanour or approach.
This is testimony to the 2010-13 teams and their members and is something that
is absolutely critical to maintain going forward. I would like New Zealand to
continue to be a team that is regarded as good sports that play clean and fair
and are great ambassadors for our country.

The second goal is a performance expectation. I believe that
with the right team, preparation and practice New Zealand can lift itself into
the top half of the competing nations. I would like this to be a minimum
target. Outperformance for me would be to achieve 10th Place. So
those are the two goals I’d like the team to have.

To achieve this I believe it is important to have the right
players, races and lists. Previous ETC experience is definitely beneficial and
I see the team having a solid kernel of players who have been before and know
what to expect. However that is not the most important thing. I believe that
for NZ to achieve its goals it has to be a team rather than a collection of
individuals. So what does that mean?

Well essentially it means team goals come before individual
goals. Race and list selection are, as previously mentioned, critical. This
means players will need to be flexible as to what race they would play and the
make-up of that list. If the consensus is that a given list should be altered
then that is the expectation. However such changes wouldn’t occur until after
the owning player has had the opportunity to make his case. So key for me is
team before individual.

The next thing is practice. New Zealand doesn’t run ETC comp
events – and I don’t see that changing. It is therefore critical that team
members are able to commit to practice with their army/list be it in other
events, casual gaming or via Universal Battle. For overseas players I’d
certainly like to see them take advantage of ETC comp events where available
and other events where necessary. Prior to the ETC I believe it is important –
and realistic – to expect team members to have had 30+ games with their list.

To help this process here in NZ, I will be hosting two team
get-togethers at my place here in Wellington. The expectation is that NZ based
members would attend one, if not both of them. There will be no accommodation,
food or transfer costs for out of towners and we’ll schedule them to take
advantage of cheap airfares etc. These events will be an opportunity to
practice, discuss list ideas and matchups.

As yet the final location of ETC 2014 has not been
confirmed. It was originally going to be France but there have been venue
problems. There is now a possibility that it will be Greece, or even a return
to Serbia. It is expected that this will be finalised in the month.

So if you are interested in putting yourself forward for
selection for the NZ 2014 ETC team what should you do?

Sounds like a fantastic oppertunity and experience for all concerned, while I won't be putting my hand up to be involved in the NZETC team itself I'd be happy to offer my services with regards to play testing so you have regular mix of opponants to face if that'll help. Always keen to field my WoC, Skaven, Empire or play OnG's.

If it matters I'd definitely attend a local ETC rules pack event locally if ones ever on the cards.

There is an obvious lack of Dwarf players in the NZ ETC team line ups of the past. Id suggest also that a Dwarf army would provide you with a quality victim you can farm out to the harder opponents allowing those armies with all the filth to secure easier wins. After all what are Dwarfs if not 'giving'